RAAS Report
RAAS REPORT
A biweekly newsletter from your
Association of Academic Staff
Friday, October 11, 2019
IMPORTANT MESSAGE FROM YOUR FACULTY REP ON THE BOARD
Dear Colleagues,
It has come to my attention that I have been telling you the wrong date for the Renison Annual General Meeting. The AGM is on Wednesday, October 23 (not the 30th) starting at 6:00 PM in the Dunker Family Lounge.
Please come if you can. It is important that faculty demonstrate that we are paying attention, and that we care about how our institution is governed. This is a particularly important AGM as there are three positions on the board to be filled, and a new Chair to be elected.
For the vacant board positions, faculty members recommended three highly qualified individuals with diverse backgrounds to the nomination sub-committee. The official slate was developed in an in-camera session of the Board's nomination sub-committee, and the names of the recommended nominees coming forward to the AGM were shared with board members in an in-camera session at the September board meeting. It is now public knowledge that none of the candidates recommended by faculty members made the slate. You will have to wait until the AGM to see how well the proposed slate reflects a commitment to increasing diversity and inclusion on the Board.
As for the Chair position, I know nothing yet about who is being recommended or nominated to serve as Chair. Board members in ex officio positions (like faculty and staff rep) are not eligible to serve as Chair, and presumably someone with experience and leadership qualities will be nominated. The term of a Board member elected to Chair can be extended beyond the 9-year term limit by 5 years (3 years as Chair, followed by another 2 year as "past Chair").
Please plan to join me at the AGM at 6:00 on Wednesday, October 23, 2019.
Rob Case
Faculty Rep
RAAS PRESIDENT'S UPDATE
Thank you to all the RAAS members who attended our first membership meeting. We had a very strong turnout and some critical discussions about the work of RAAS, including issues of governance and policy creation.
We would encourage everyone to follow us on Twitter @RenisonAAS as we provide information about important issues related to post-secondary education. And we hope you’re enjoying RAAS Report [now 83.4% formatting error free — ed.].
So many members of RAAS are taking leadership roles to ensure we remain strong as a collective. In particular, I would like to thank Julia Williams for her initiation of RAAS lunches. The first one was held yesterday, October 10th. Mark your calendars as the next RAAS lunch is Wednesday, November 13th. All that is required is to come to the cafeteria to socialize with colleagues!
Another huge thank you goes out to Trish van Katwyk for joining the negotiation committee this term. This is time-consuming work and we are so appreciative to have her insights on the team.
If there are any initiatives that you as a RAAS member have in mind to strengthen our organization and support equity in post-secondary education then please get in touch with a member of the Executive.
Please mark your calendars for the next RAAS membership meeting on Wednesday, December 4th at 10am in the Dunker Family Lounge.
And here’s a final reminder… Please attend the AGM on Wednesday, October 23rd at 6pm in the Dunker Family Lounge.
Kristina Llewellyn
RAAS President
NEGOTIATIONS UPDATE
Negotiations with Admin resumed in September, and we are trying to maintain a brisk pace in negotiations with a view to completing a draft Memorandum of Agreement, minus compensation proposals, by the end of November.
The process is slow and painstaking, but we are making progress. We have agreements on nearly 20 important items, including annual reviews, tenure & promotion, and grievance & arbitration. We are close to agreement on some very complex items such as appointments, search/hire procedures, and discipline. Nothing is final until you (and the Board) ratify the draft agreement, hopefully next term.
In our most recent sessions, we have come to agreement on privacy, retirement, and working conditions.
From time to time, as we do the research needed to development proposals for the negotiating table, the RAAS team uncovers important inconsistencies and significant gaps in our current policy coverage. A recent example is the discovery that a change in UW's Travel Accident Insurance coverage was lost in the course of administrative turnover at Renison and we were without coverage for 3 1/2 years as a result. Admin's response to this discovery was the procurement of the coverage we needed. This will be in the MoA to avoid any future gaps. For more information, see the email Memo "New AD&D Travel Benefits" sent by Admin on October 10.
For more information on where we stand on any specific item, or on the negotiation process in general, please send me an email or give me a call.
Rob Case
Lead Negotiator
SATIRE
Climate protesters stymie police attempts to arrest them by becoming fossil fuel CEOs
Mary Gillis, The Beaverton (October 7, 2019)
HALIFAX – As protesters in several Canadian cities blocked bridges today to bring attention to the climate crisis, police were surprised and dismayed to discover that many of the protesters were high-ranking officers in fossil fuel extraction companies.
NOT SATIRE
Election Day in Canada: When Voter Suppression Came Calling
On September 28th, the Bookshelf in Guelph screened Peter Smoczynski's new documentary, Election Day in Canada: When Voter Suppression Came Calling. Audience members were both riveted and appalled.
The filmmaker is making the documentary available online for FREE for a brief period before it goes into traditional distribution. Please watch and share this critical and vastly under-reported piece of Canadian electoral history: https://vimeo.com/showcase/edaycautionarytale
OCUFA NEWS
RAAS is a member of the Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations (OCUFA), a province-wide association of our peers.
Province will stick to plan to cap teachers' wage increases at one per cent: finance minister
Shawn Jeffords, The Canadian Press (October 9, 2019)
Ontario will stick to its plan to cap public sector wage increases as it enters key contract talks with teachers, the province's finance minister said Wednesday.
British Columbia worst province in Canada for gender gap
David Carrigg, Ottawa Citizen (October 8, 2019)
A Statistics Canada report released Monday showed that, on average, Canadian women earned $4.13 or 13.3 per cent less than their male counterparts, with women in B.C. facing the largest gap, 18.9 per cent, followed by women in Alberta, 17.6 per cent. P.E.I. was the only province where there was no wage gap.
Ontario wants to pool public sector benefits, potentially saving millions
Kristin Rushowy, Toronto Star (October 9, 2019)
The Ontario government is looking to save $115 million a year by pooling the benefits of the broader public sector by 2021. Treasury Board president Peter Bethlenfalvy is expected announce the move Wednesday — an idea he said was suggested and strongly supported during two months of consultations
Western University avoids librarians' strike thanks to 11th-hour deal
Staff, London Free Press (October 8, 2019)
After 19 bargaining sessions, the school and the union representing the workers, UWOFA-LA, reached a last-minute tentative agreement late Monday, averting the potential strike that was scheduled to begin Tuesday.
Two Canadian universities identified in US report regarding donations accepted from opioid maker
Academica Group, AP (October 7, 2019)
Two Canadian universities have been identified in a report revealing that a select number of universities around the world received a minimum of $60M in donations (total) from the Sackler family, the owners of the drug manufacturer behind Oxycontin, which many argue is fueling the current opioid crisis.
CAUT NEWS
RAAS is a member of the Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT), a nation-wide association of our peers.
Staff, CAUT Bulletin (October 4, 2019)
October 5th was World Teachers’ Day, and the Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT) joined with the global education community in celebrating the many accomplishments of the teaching profession, while highlighting the need to ensure the profession is attractive to and supportive of new teachers.
FAUW NEWS
RAAS has a service agreement with the Faculty Association of the University of Waterloo (FAUW), a campus-wide association of our peers.
University Governance Workshop: Early registration for FAUW reps
Laura McDonald, FAUW (October 7, 2019)
How do decisions about conditions of employment get made? Who approves policies? Who has a say, and at what stage? What does the Board of Governors do? What does FAUW do and how do we do it?
We invite you to find answers to these questions and more at a workshop on university governance on November 15. This is a great opportunity for FAUW representatives to better understand how we make change happen on campus—and how we protect members’ rights. A light breakfast and full lunch are provided.
Registration is open for FAUW reps now and will open to all members on October 21.
Report on the FAUW Lecturers Committee Retreat 2019
Aga Wolczuk, RAAS (October 4, 2019)
The current Lecturers Committee, consisting of eleven members from the UW’s six faculties and Renison, started its work for the new academic year on September 24. The Committee’s new chair is Su-Yin Tan of the Faculty of Environment. During the first meeting, the chair presented some updates on the recent FAUW Board meetings and retreat, after which the committee discussed its vision and main priorities for the coming academic year. The main issues reported by the chair included:
1. FAUW concern about access to retirement-related benefits under Policy 59; and
2. Slow progress of the Policy 76 revision process.
Consultations Open for Revised Policy 33 – Ethical Behaviour
FAUW's Faculty Relations Committee (FRC) is seeking feedback on the revised ethical behaviour policy. It coversharassment, reprisals, conflict of interest, discrimination, abuse of power, and more. Please submit comments online by October 18. There are two Q&A sessions next week:
Tuesday, October 15, 2019, 4:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m., RCH 305
Thursday, October 17, 2019, 11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m., RCH 305
If necessary, you can submit anonymous input through our FRC reps or Lori Curtis.